Many players of stringed instruments such as banjos and guitars perform in a standing position and thus require additional means for supporting the instrument in a playing position because it readily becomes tiresome to support the instrument with one's hands while also playing the instrument. Most of these stringed instruments are provided with paired spaced anchor points so that it may be supported by a strap or sling mounted between the anchor points and extending over the player's shoulders and across the player's back.
Exemplary of devices which provide support for stringed instruments are shown in Jacombs, U.S. Pat. No. 4,279,367 (musical instrument harness); Thompson et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,930,695 (FIG. 8 type harness strap); Hash, U.S. Pat. No. 5,431,320 (suspension strap); Mechem et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,993,127 (slotted locking attachment for guitar strap); Hoshino, U.S. Pat. No. 4,843,943 (ringed protected strap connection for a guitar); McIntosh, U.S. Pat. No. 4,254,901 (double shouldered guitar strap); Violette, U.S. Pat. No. 5,332,137 (adjustable guitar harness); and Silagy, U.S. Pat. No. 5,338,743 (shoulder pad for decorative guitar strap); among others.
Broadly, a guitar comprises a body and an elongated neck portion extending therefrom. The neck carries a fingerboard over a major portion thereof, and includes a head portion at a second end remote from the body. The strings extend along the elongate neck and are fastened to a suitable supporting structure on the body at one end and to a suitable tuning mechanism on the head portion. See, generally, Miller, U.S. Pat. No. 4,138,919.
On typical guitars, the first of the two anchor points for shoulder straps is located on the body generally in line with the neck on the side of the body opposite that where the neck joins on. Depending on the instrument, and to some extent upon user preference, the second of the two anchor points may be located on the instrument body generally proximate the heel.
Individual players typically have preferred locations of the instrument body and orientations of the instrument neck in which they find it most comfortable to play. For example, a relatively high position of the instrument makes the playing of high notes easier and more relaxing to the player's wrists. On the other hand, a low position may be more comfortable in other respects. Similarly, the angular orientation of the neck is subject to a wide range of player preferences.
However, the traditional method of supporting a guitar with both strap anchors located on the guitar body presents certain disadvantages which render its use less than ideal. For example, the traditional strap support requires the player to provide additional support to the instrument neck. This tends to put additional strain on the fretting hand, and can interfere with proper fretting technique. Depending on the degree of player movement, the problem of slippage with the fretting hand can be relatively acute. When the guitar is worn relatively high on the user's body in order to facilitate the playing of high notes, or relatively low to gain comfort in other respects, a greater tendency of the neck to drop is experienced.
It has therefore become common for players of stringed instruments as described hereinabove to cease use of the second body anchor to tie a piece of string under the strings on the tuning section of the head portion of the neck and tie the string to guitar strap through the hole in the strap which was previously employed for attaching to the anchor.
While this crude solution has helped to reduce strain on the fretting hand, it has caused a variety of other problems. For instance, the bow or knots made with the string are prone to becoming undone during playing, which increases the chance that the guitar may accidentally be dropped. The bows and/or knots can interfere with the tuning strings causing a loss of sound quality. Additionally, many guitarists enjoy playing both with and without the strap. When the guitarist wishes to remove the strap, it can become a struggle to untie the knots in the string going around the guitar headstock. This problem is especially exacerbated when the guitarist is performing on stage and needs to quickly release the strap.
Special mention is made of Brooks, U.S. Pat. No. 3,894,464 which discloses a guitar strap which is includes a means for securely fastening one end of the strap to the head of the guitar neck but is not a quick release connection.
Thus there is a need in the art for the development of a guitar strap attachment system which will overcome the shortcomings of the prior art and will be adaptable for use with current guitar straps.